Core box top handling mechanism



y 1957 L. F. MILLER 2,791,012

CORE BOX TOP HANDLING MECHANISM Filed March 11, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 mr m m in f m w m no m V: In a N 4, N A I v INVENTOR.

' LEO/V F. M/LLE/Z T-ronus Y6.

y 7, 1957 L. F. MILLER 2,791,012

CORE BOX TOP HANDLING MECHANISM Filed March 11, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. Lid/V N/LLER xwcz QTTOQNEK? L. F. MILLER CORE BOX TOP HANDLINGMECHANISM May 7, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 11, 1953 INVENTOR.LEON F. M/LLEE y 7, 1957 II. F. MILLER 2,791,012

CORE BOX TQP HANDLING MECHANISM Filed March 1]., 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 4ATTORNEYS May 7, 1957 F. MILLER 2 CORE BOX TOP HANDLING MECHANISM FiledMarch 11,- 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I C INVENTOR. .?;9./6 LEON F. MILLERATTOPA/Eks CORE BOX TOP HANDLING MECHANISM Leon F. Miller, FairviewPark, Ohio, assiguor to The Osborn Manufacturing Company, Cleveiand,Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application March 11, 1953, Serial No.341,647

Claims. (CI. 2210) This invention relates as indicated to core box tophandling mechanism, 'and more particularly to mechanism adapted to beemployed with a core blowing machine in order to adapt such machine tothe production of a variety of difierent cores in a continuousproduction run and without other adjustment of the machine.

The mechanism of this invention is especially adapted for employment inconjunction with a core blowing machine of the type disclosed andclaimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 272,969, filed February23, 1952, and the present drawing shows such mechanism mounted on suchmachine. In the machine disclosed in my copending application Serial No.272,969, a plurality of core boxes are adapted to be supported by aturntable and thereby sequentially index-ed into core blowing position.Other operations are performed at other stations, including a rock-overand draw station, permitting the production of finished cores at a ratenever before attained or even contemplated. Such machine has accordinglymet with extraordinary commercial success in the larger foundries havinglarge production runs of a single type a s. ate

of mold or core, and such molds and cores have been obviously be moreconvenient and considerably less costly if two or more of such coreboxes could be constructed to produce different types and sizes of coresas required during a single run of the machine. Again, this is-per-.fectly-possible if the core boxes are of substantially the identicalfor both cores. More generally, however, the core boxes will require tobe of substantially different dimensions and a quite differentarrangement of the blow holes will also be necessary. Likewise, somecore :same size, and the arrangement of the-blow holes may be boxesrequire to be split horizontally to provide top and I bottom portions,depending upon the shape of the core to be blown, in order to permitsubsequent drawing thereof.

It .is accordingly a primary object of my invention to provide core boxtop handling mechanism adapted to increase the versatility of a coreblowing machine of the type disclosed in my aforesaid co-pendingapplication and to permit the blowing of a number of different cores ina single production run.

Another object is to provide such mechanism which will be automatic inoperation and will both position the individual core box top beneath theblow plate at the blow station and will at other stations hold such corebox top clear of the core box proper.

; A further object is to provide such mechanism which will not interferewith the rapid operation of the machine asawhole. r

Other objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related 2,7911 ,012 PatentedMay. 7, 1%57 ice ends, said invention then comprises the featureshereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims,the following description and the annexed draw ing setting forth indetail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these beingindicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which theprinciple of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my new core blowing and molding machine,somewhat diagrammatic in nature, and

about which such turntable rotates taken on the line 4-4 on Fig. 2;

I Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section through the con trol valvemeans mounted on such column taken on the line 55 on Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 6-6on Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on the line 7-7 on Fig.4; 1

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of a conventional blow plat for the coreblowing unit of my machine showing the ,usual blow hole arrangement.

Figs. 9-11 inclusive are vertical transverse sections longitudinally ofthe sand reservoir of such core blowing innit showing different typesand sizes of core boxes associated therewith;

Figs. 12 and 13 are similar vertical sections transversely of the narrowdimension of such said reservoir and associated core boxes;

Fig. 14'is an elevational view of another embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 15 is a horizontal cross-section taken on the line 15-15 of Fig.14; and I Fig. 16 is a developed elevational view of the cam track shownin Figs. 14 and 15..

For a detailed description of the machine with which my new core box tophandling mechanism is shown combined, reference should be had -to myaforesaid co-pending application Serial No. 272,969, and only a briefdescription of the same will accordingly be given below. As best shownin Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing, this machine comprises a coreblowing unit indicated generally at 1, a turntable 2, a rock-over unit3, and a draw table 4. Such core blowing unit is of generallyconventional construc ,tion and is adapted to utilize compressed air inconventional manner to blow or drive prepared sand or equivalent moldingmedium into the usual core boxes 5. The turntable 2 is adapted totransport five such core boxes through a cycle including five differentstations or dwells,

.two of such stations being located at such core blower 1 and rock-overdevice 3 respectively. Such rock-over device not only takes the filledcore boxes from the turntable and inverts them for performance of thedrawing operation but then also returns the empty boxes to the turntablefor further indexing into position for performtance of another blowingoperation. An electrical control system may be provided for the completemachine including an electric timer for sequential operation of the.several powered units.

The core blowing unit generally indicated at 1 in Fig. 1 may be ofgeneral conventional construction including a heavy base frame 6 and anupper frame or head 7. Such head is supported on base 6 by threevertical strain rods 8, 9 and 10. Rods 8 and 9 are spaced apart to allowa slide carriage to be reciprocated therebetween through action of adouble-acting piston-cylinder assembly 11, thereby reciprocating sandreservoir 12 from a position beneath hopper 13 to a position beneathblow head 14 as shown in Fig. 2. Mounted in the base 6 of the coreblowing unit is a conventional clamp piston vertically'reciprocable incylinder 15 and carrying a clamp table 16 adapted to engage and raise acore box into blowing relationship with blow plate 17 on the undersideof reservoir 12. Such reservoir will preferably be provided with exhaustvalves such as 18 of the type disclosed in Patent No. 2,545,944 to R. W.Ellrns. The core blowing unit itself may be of the general typedescribed in such patent.

In the embodiment illustrated, the turntable 2 is journalled forrotation about strain rod 10 on suitable 'bearlugs and is supported by aplurality of rollers (not shown) mounted therebeneath. This turntablemay be indexed in either a clockwise or "counterclockwise direction asdesired, preferably by means of mechanism of the type disclosed in theco-pending application of Robert W. Ellms Serial No. 273,093 fi'ledFebruary 23, 1952 now Patent No. 2,748,625, filed June 5, 1956. Forpurposes of this description, however, it may be assumed hereafter,unless otherwise stated, that counterclockwise rotation is intended.

The apparatus here described is adapted to handle either mold flasks orcore boxes but in the present description will be considered asconveyingcore boxes through the cycle of operation. The core boxes 5 areeach mounted on individual platens 19 and are not separated therefromduring operation of the machine. Such platens are, however, notpermanently fixed to the turntable 2 but are provided with trunnions 20adapted to rest in upwardly open trunnion bearings 21 at the outer endsof arms 22 mounted on turntable 2. Such trunnions are located adjacentthe outer corners of such platens as thus mounted on the supporting armsand the inner corners of the platens rest upon the respective armsthemselves to support the platens and core boxes in horizontal position.In the embodimentillustrated, there are five pair of such arms '22adapted thus to support five platens (for purposes of clarity, only thearms at one station are shown in Figs. 2 and '3). The indexing mechanism'above referred to is adapted, during the dwell in its cycle, to leavesuch platens and core boxes in the positions indicated in Fig. 1 whichmay be considered as, comprising five stations, station A being locatedat the core blowing unit, station B being intermediate such core blowingunit and th'e subsequent rock-over and draw unit, and stations D and Bbeing subsequent to such latter -station and preceding "stationA.

The platens may readily be lifted from their supporting arms at each ofsuch stations as desired and returned thereto, as by elevation of clamptable 16 at station Aand by other mechanism at the otherstations.

The rock-over and dr'awmechan'ism generally indicated at 3 and 4h; Figs.land 3, is especially designed to core boxes or flasks from theturntable, draw the same and return them 'to'the turntable for furtherindexing. The

rock-over device 3 com'prisesa pair 'of spaced "standards 23 and 24 witha shaft 25 extending therebetween and journalled for rotation in theirupper ends. Keyed to the central'portion of such shaft is a strong rigiddepending arm 26 terminating in clamping mechanism 27 adapted togrip'the underside of a platen 19 indexed 'thereabove in order that suchplaten may be rocked over to dotted line position as shown in Fig. 3with the core box suspended therefrom above draw table 4.

A drier plate 28 will previously have been placed 'upon the core box andclamped thereon by means of arms 29 I the draw table will descend withthe drier platenand the core resting thereon. When the drawing operationhas been completed or nearly completed, shaft 25 may now be rocked inthe opposite direction to return the platen and core box to the waitingarms 22 on turntable 2. A more detailed explanation of the operation ofthis mechanism will be found in my aforesaid co-pending application.

The core box top handling mechanism proper Referring now again to saiddrawing and especially Figs. 1-3 thereof, I provide five uprights 31,32, 33, 34 and 35 symmetrically mounted on turntable 2 about column 10for rotation with such turntable about such column. Each of suchuprights is located symmetrically radially inwardly of a correspondingpair of platen-sup porting arms 22 and a pair of arms 36 and 37 ispivotally mounted at the upper end of each such upright for upwardswinging movement above the core box 5 supported on the correspondingpair of turntable arms 22 and platen 19.

A piston-cylinder assembly 38 is pivotally mounted on turntable 2beneath each such pair of arms 36, 37, with piston rod 39 pivotallyconnected to such arms whereby the latter may be swung upwardly as shownin Fig. '3 or lowered into generally horizontal position as shown inFig. 2. Such piston-cylinderassemblies will ordinarily be air operatedsince air under pressure is regularly employed in foundries inconnectionwith the operation of theother mechanism such as the usual core blowingand molding machine. An air hose such as 40 leads from air distributingvalve 41 on column 10 to the lower end of each such cylinder, androtationof the turntable 2 is caused to rotate such valve to control theadmission of air to the piston-cylinder assemblies 38. Single-actingpistoncylinder assemblies are ordinarily satisfactory for my purposeinasmuch as the weight of the arms 36, 37, and the core box tops carriedthereby is sufficient to cause the same to descend when the air pressureis relieved.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 4-7 inclusive, such valve 41comprises an inner annular valve body member 42 mounted on column 10 andprovided with an outwardly projecting flange portion having a groove 43in its underside. Such groove extends circumferentially of member 42from a point aligned with station B to a point slightly in advance ofstation E. Air under pressure is admitted to groove 43 at all times fromair line 44 through inlet 45.

An upper ring of greater internal diameter than the diameter of column10 rests on the outwardly projecting ll'ang'e of member 42 and issecured to lower ring 47 which engages the underside of such flange asbest shown in Figs. 5-7 inclusive by means of bolts 48 provided withcompres- 'sion springs 49 interposed between the heads of such bolts andring 46 'to draw ring 47 into tight sealing engagement with theunderside of the outwardly projecting flange portion of member '42.Rings and 47 are, moreover, rigidly connected to upright 33 by means ofbracket 50 (see Fig. 3) so that rings 46 and 47 willbe caused to rotatewith turntable 2 while inner member 42 of the valve remains stationaryon column 10.

The arms 36, 37, are notched as at 51, 52 to engage laterally projectingpins such as 53, 54, on a core box top 5'5 to raise and lower such topwith corresponding movement of such arms.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 5 of the drawing, it will be seen thatwhen such arms 36, 37, index a core box top 55 into position beneath thesand reservoir 12 of the core blowing unit at station A the air hose 40is not in connect-ion with groove 43 supplied with air under pressurefrom line 44 and consequently such arms 36, 37, are lowered intosubstantially horizontal position with the core box top held beneath theblow plate 17 with but a slight anio'un'tof clearance afforded thereby.Upon now causirig elatnp table 16 to rise in conventional rnann'er, suchtable will first engage the superimposed platen 19 to lift itaudits-core box 5 from the supporting arms 22. Such upward movementcontinuing, core box 5 will next ongage-ears box top 55 and lift it fromarms '36 and 37nntil such top, core box, and platen are all firmlyclamped between the clamp table 16 and the blow plate 17, whereupon theblowing operation may now take place. Of course, when table 16 is nowlowered, the reverse procedure occurs and the top 55 is firstredeposited on arms 36, 37, and the platen 19 with core box (nowcontaining the recently blown core) is returned to turntable arms 22. a

When the turntable now indexes to carry such cor box and itscorresponding top to station B, air hose 40 will now connect with theend of groove 43 (Fig. 4) admitting air to the lower end ofpiston-cylinder assembly 38 to elevate arms 36, 37, and the core boxtop, thereby afiording access to the core box 5 to permit an operator todeposit a drier plate thereon and perform any other necessaryoperations. When the turntable again indexes, carrying such core box andcore box top to station C (Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5), the core box top willremain in elevated position as shown to permit the above-describedrock-over operation to take place without interference therefrom.

When the turntable now indexes to station D, the air hose 40 remains incommunication with groove 43 and air pressure line 44 so that the corebox top 55 is held in elevated position out of the way while an operatorblows out the interior of the core box, resets loose pieces, sprays inparting compound, and performs other necessary operations.

When the turntable again indexes to station E, the final make-readystation, the connection of air hose 40 with the valve will have passedbeyond the end of groove 43 (Fig. .4) so that air under pressure is nolonger admitted to cylinder 38 and instead, such air hose willcommunicate through passage 56'to air exhaust outlet 57 (Figs.

Core box and sub-blow plate assemblies Referring now more particularlyto Figs. 8-13 inclusive of the drawing, Fig. 8 illustrates a typicalblow plate 17 adapted to be semi-permanently secured to the bottom ofthe sand reservoir 12. A typical arrangement of blow holes such as 58,59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64,65 and 66 is also shown in Fig. 8. Obviously, ifa relatively small size core box is to be filled, it will be necessaryto block off such of these holes as will not be employed in theoperation. This may be accomplished by the employment of an auxiliary orsub-blow plate 67 adapted to mate with the underside of blow plate 17and provided with only such holes as are required to admit the sand tothe core box cavity. Where; the core to be blown is of a type notrequiring that the core box be horizontally split or divided, suchauxiliary or sub-blow plate 67 may be carried by arms 36 and 37 and acore box 68 such as that illustrated in Fig. 11 employed, such core boxbeing mounted on a platen 19 and handled as previously described. On theother hand, when the core box requires thus to be horizontally dividedto form a cope and drag, the upper or cope section 69 may be secured tothe underside of an appropriate sub-blow plate and the lower or dragportion 70 (Fig. 9) mounted on the platen. Such cope portion will thenbe carried with the sub-blow plate on arms 36, 37, and when clamp table16 descends after the blowing operation this movement will serve to drawthe upper portion of the core from the cope. At station B, the operatorwill then place a drier plate 28 on the drag of a form corresponding tothe exposed upper portion-of the core to protect and support the sameduring the rock-over and draw operation. As shown in Fig. 9, themajority of the blow holes in blow plate 17 are closed off by plate 67.

' In Fig. there is illustrated a sectional core box generallysimilar tothat of Fig. 9 but of a larger size comprising a cope 7-1 and a drag 72.Accordingly different more widely spaced blow holes 58, 61 and 64 areutilized, the others being closed ofi by the sub-blow plate 67. Figuresl2 and 13 similarly illustrate how blow holes 65, 61 and 66 may all beutilized or only the intermediate hole 61 utilized depending upon thetransverse dimension of the core box. I

In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided mechanismwhereby, in an automatic core blowing machine of the type described, anumber of different types and sizes of cores may be blown in a singleproduction run simply by providing such core boxes with correspondingindependently supported sub-blow plates, with or without core box topsproperly secured thereto depending upon the particular type of core tobe formed. The rapidity of operation of the machine is in no wayinterfered with and, insofar as the handling of such sub-blow plates andcore box tops is concerned, such operation may be wholly automatic. Inthe particular machine shown and described for purposes of illustration,it will be seen that as many as five different cores may be produced ina single production run, five difierent core boxes being employed. Ofcourse, if a larger proportion of some particular core should bedesired, then two or more of the core boxes may desirably be identical.

More generally, I have provided means whereby adapters, which may besub-blow plates or core box tops or combinations of the same, may becarried by the same conveyor means such as turntable 2 which transportsthe core boxes and automatically moves into and out of operativeposition as required. The number of core boxes handled by one machine isobviously a matter of choice and my invention permits full operation ofthe machine regardless of whether a single type or several types ofcores are being produced at any one time.

While the terms core and mold are usually accorded limited meanings inthe industry a core is, of course, a special type of mold and in theclaims appended hereto the term mold is used in its broad significanceto include cores and the like as well as the usual molds as produced insqueeze molding machines, for example. The mold-enclosing means, such asa flask or core box, is also known in a variety of forms. As a matter offact, it is feasible to blow many types of molds, as commonly so named,on the core blowing machine, or the blow plate may be tilized merely asa squeeze head for the squeezing of molds in cooperation with table 18.Of course, a regular jolt-squeeze or other standard molding machinewould ordinarily be preferred.

Instead of transporting such adapters on arms 36, 37, different patternsmay be mounted thereon and the machine utilized as a squeeze moldingmachine producing a variety of different molds. The well-known OsbornModel 218-PV vibrating squeeze machine may thus be substituted for thecore-blowing unit illustrated. Likewise, when in a molding operationdifferent squeeze boards are necessary for different molds due to barsin the flasks arranged in different positions, such squeeze boards maybe carried by arms 36, 37. These boards are ordinarily provided withbiscuits which project between such bars during the squeeze.

The power means for indexing turntable 2 may desirably comprise apiston-cylinder assembly 73 and a rack mechanism 74 operative to drivesuch turntable in the manner described in Ellms application Serial No.273,093, but other drive means may be utilized. The means supporting thecore box tops or the like above the core box may be modified to raiseand lower such tops perfectly vertically but it is preferred to employmeans operative to swing them back out of the way as shown.

Figures 14-16 embodiment Referring now more particularly to Figs. 14, 15and 16 of the drawing, another embodiment of my invention is thereillustrated having certain advantages in construcarms 75 are in normalhorizontal position.

tionand .of operation. Sets of; core. boxtop; sup-s porting .Iarms.75,.gencrally' similar to..such arms 36. and. 31 described. abovearepivotally carried by uprightstands' such as 176 (similarto sandslib-35). mounted onturntable 2' radially inwardly of the respectivepairs of platen and core box supporting arms 22' in the. same relativepositions shown in Figs. 1 and lot the drawing. Downward swinging ofsuch arms .75' about pivot '17 is limited by adjustingocrews: 78..Upwardly open. trunnion cradles. 79 adjacent the outer ends of the armsare adapted. .to. receive corresponding trunnions projecting from thecore box" tops or sulnblow. plates.

Mounted on head Z adjacent column is a. vertically disposedfluid.pressure cylinder 80: {ordinarily pneumatic) carried byhorizontaltmmnions 81 and having a down wardly projecting .piston 'rod.82i protruding therefrom. Such. fluidpressure piston-cylinder assemblymay be of either the'double-aetingtype: or spring-return type. Anadjustable stop 83- together withtension spring83' limits swingingmovementof the upper end of. such cylinder toward column 10, and thelower end 84 of piston rod 82-is adapted to engage. in a cup-shapeddepression 85 inlever arm tilt-projecting toward column 10 from pivot 77and unitary with such core-box supporting arms 75. Consequently, whenair pressure is: admitted to the upper end of' cylinder 80, piston rod82', 84 is moved downwardly to engage in such hollow'SS and to rocklever arm86-to lift the corebox top supporting arms75 to dotted lineposition.

Also-mounted on column 10 is a generally fiat cam trackformed intwosegments bolted to such column by means of bolts 87 and 88. Such camtrack comprises a horizontal portion-89"extcnding from station B (seealso of'camt-rack portion 89 and in effect forming a continuationthereof. A stop 92 preventspivotal movement of suchlatch member upwardlyout of alignment with horizontal fiat portion 89 and a tension spring 93serves normallyto prevent member 91 from dropping downwardly out ofsuchalignment. A roller 94 is mounted for-rotation on the end. of leverarm 86 and projects above latch member 9E when core box top supportingWhen, however, piston rod 82 is depressed to rocklever arm 36downwardly, such roller 94 will engage the top of latch member "91 torock the latter downwardly against the force of tension spring 93 untilsuch roller has slid past, whereupon member 91 will again resume normalposition with its underside parallel to earn surface 89. Now, whenpiston rod 82 is again retracted, lever arm 86 will rock slightlyupwardly until roller 94 engages the underside of latch member '91,preventing further lowering of core box top supporting arms 75. Whentable 2- is thereafter indexed 'to bring this particular set of arms 75to station C and then station D, roller 94 will roll alongthe undersideof cam track 89 and continue to hold arms 75 in elevated position.During further indexingfrom station D to station E, however, roller 94will be caused to travel along the underside of upwardly sloping camtrack portion 90 so that arms 75 will be graduallylowered without shockor jarring back to solid line position. Consequently, arms 75 and-thecore box top "supported thereby will be in horizontal position above thecore box when the turntable now indexes from stationE to the coreblowing station A.

An important advantage of the last-described inechanism is its relativesimplicity and small number of moving parts, Thus, but a singlepneumatic piston-cylinder assembly is. required to rock the core boxsupporting arms and such cylinder is, moreover, mounted in one positionand need not travel with the turntable. This onsiderably .simplifiestheproblem otsupplying ainpressure. thereto, The. cam: track and associatedlatch mochanism, being a, simple mechanical device, requires little, ifany, maintenance and, is substantially tr0nble-free in operation.

Each stand 76' may be further braced. againstthe others,

by means. ot braces .95.- engaging; aring encircling column 10. Ofcourse, the operation of the machine may be controlled-by an operatorsimply manipulating appropriate air'valves, but-ibis preferred that,such, valves, be times controlled and operation fully automatic. Anupper limit.'

switch-.9.6 and. a lower limit switch .97 may be; provided as showninFig, l4, to safeguard the. machine, the lower,

possible tOl prevent indexing unless, roller 94 has. been. brought belowlatch 91 and the piston: rod end 8.4. raised.

out of pocket 85. As the turntable or equivalent. indexing means,revolves,-the core box tops or like, membersare raised; at. station B,maintained in such elevated, position as they move to..stations C and D,and graduallyloweredrtohorizontal position as they move to station E,They arethus rout. of the way at the drawstation but returnedtooperative position at the blow station A.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention maybe. employed,change. being made as regards the de tails. described; provided the.features; stated in any of the following claims: or the-equivalent ofsuch be employed.

I thereforeparticularly point out and distinctly claim as .my invention:

1. In mold making mechanism having a turntable mounted for rotationabout a vertical axis, a molding station. adjacent said turntable, amold drawing station,

adjacent said turntable, a platen-supporting means on said turntableadapted to support a plurality of platens arranged eircumferentiallythereof, indexing means operative to rotate said turntable to index suchplatens from said .molding station to said draw station and from thelatter station. tosaid, molding station, said platen-supporting meansbeing arranged to support one. platen at said draw station when anotherplatenis thus supported, at said molding station, molding means at saidmolding, station operative to, lift a platen from said. supporting.

means for performance of the molding operation and. to return the samethereto. after, completion of such operation, rock-over means at said,draw station operative. to lift a platen from said supporting means andinvert the same, and a draw table mounted .for vertical reciprocw tionbeneath; such platen wherethus heldin such inverted position; thecombination 0t uprights. symmetrically mounted on; said turntable aboutsuch axis andradially inwardly from a respectivesaidplaten-supporting'means, a pair 0t arms pivotally mounted on eachsaid vupright for up-and-down swinging movement in unison above a saidrespective platensupporting means, said arms being adapted verticallyremovably to support adapter means for core boxes, and; the. like inhorizontal position spaced vertically for engagement bysuch core boxesand thelikc when said; platens are lifted by said, molding means,whereby said adapter means may thus be picked up, and elevated by.suchcore boxes and the like, and means operative to, swing said armsand such adapter means. upwardly at other stations to avoid interferencewith. operations at such stations.

2. In core making mechanism having a turntable adapted to. be indexedfrom; station. to station, a core- 'blowing machineataone such station,and core boxes supported, by said turntable for elevation therefrom, atsuch core-blowing station; the combination ofuprights sym metricallymounted on said turntable about the axis of the latter and radiallyinwardly of said respective com boxes;-a pair of arms pivotallymountedon eachwaidl seal-gals upright for up and-down swinging movement iniunison.

above a said respective core box, each said pair of arms being adaptedto removably support a core box top in' horizontal position spaced abovea said respective core box for mating engagement and vertical liftingthereby and for mating engagement of the core box top with the coreblowing machine when said core box is thus elevated at such core-blowingstation, and means operative to swing said arms and core box topsupwardly subsequent to the core-blowing operation to avoid interferencewith operations at later stations.

J 3. In core making mechanism having a turntable adapted to be indexedfrom station to station, a coreat such ilraw "station 1' to" avoidinterference 3 1 platen lifting and-inverting operation, saidliftingmeans comprising a stationary generally vertcal piston-cylinder assemblymounted above said conveying means adapted forcibly to extend saidpiston downwardly, horizontally pivotaly mountedvm'embers on saidconveying means" adapted to support such adapter means and having ex-'tensions projecting beyond such pivotal mountings adapted to be engagedsequentially by said piston when indexed blowing machine at one suchstation, and core boxes supported by said turntable for elevationtherefrom at such core-blowing station; the combination of uprightssymmetrically mounted on said turntable about the axis of the latter andradially inwardly of said respective core boxes, a pair of armspivotally mounted on each said upright for up-and-down swinging movementin unison above a said respective core-box, each said pair of arms beingadapted to removably support a core box top in horizontal positionvertically spaced above a said respective core box for engagement andlifting thereby when said core box is thus elevated at such core-blowingstation and for engagement of said core box top with the core-blowingmachine, and fluid pressure piston cylinder power means operative toswing said arms and core box tops upwardly subsequent to thecore-blowing operation to avoid interference with operations at laterstations.

4. In indexing means for core boxes and the like adapted to be indexedfrom station to station and to sup port core boxes thereon; supportmeans operative to removably support a corresponding core box top or thelike in horizontal position spaced directly above a respective core boxat one such station for vertical registration therewith and movable toshift such tops to nonobstructing positions at another station, andlifting means operative to lift said core box directly vertically intomating engagement with said top spaced thereabove at said first station,and to lift said core box top into engagement with the core-blowingmachine.

5. In core making mechanism having a turntable adapted to be indexedfrom station to station, a core blowing machine at one such stationhaving a horizontally disposed blow plate, and core boxes of diiferenttypes supported on said turntable for indexing into position beneathsaid blow plate; corresponding core box tops for said core boxes,support means on said turntable adapted removably to support said topsin horizontal positions spaced directly vertically above said respectivecore boxes, sub-blow plates secured to said tops adapted to mate withsaid first-mentioned blow plate, and elevating means at such coreblowing station operative directly vertically to elevate a said core boxfrom said turntable to engage and lift a corresponding top and sub-blowplate from said support means to press the sub-blow plate firmly againstsaid first-mentioned blow plate.

6. In mold making mechanism having platen conveying means operative totransport a platen in horizontal position from station to station withdwells at such stations, such platen having mold-enclosing meansthereon, molding means at one such station operative to lift such platenfrom said conveying means for performance of a molding operation and toreturn such platen to said conveying means after performance of suchmolding operation, and draw means at another such station operative tolift such platen from said conveyor and invert the same for drawing ofsuch mold and then to return such platen to said conveyor; thecombination of lifting means mounted on said conveying means adjacenteach such platen adapted to support adapter means in horizontal positiondirectly vertically spaced above such mold-enclosing means on suchplaten at such molding station and to hold such adapter means at a stillgreater elevation to the corresponding station, thereby to swing saidmembers and such adapters supported thereby upwardly, latch; meansoperative automatically to engage said extensions of said members thusdepressed to maintain them in such position upon subsequent retractionof said piston, and-a guide track constituting a continuation of saidlatch means effective to engage said extensions during further indexingof said conveying means, said guide track sloping upwardly beforereaching such molding station to permit said extensions to rise and saidpivotally mounted mem bers therefore to descend to lower such adaptermeans into horizontal position directly vertically spaced above suchmold-enclosing means ior subsequent engagement by the latter.

7. In indexing means for core boxes and the like including a turntablerotatable about a stationary central column and adapted to be indexedfrom station to station and to support such core boxes during suchindexing, one said station being a blow station including means toelevate a core box thereat; means on said table rotatable therewithadapted to support core box tops and the like comprising a stand on saidturntable radially inwardly of a corresponding core box, a core box topsupporting member horizontally pivotally mounted on said stand andhaving an extension projecting radially inwardly from such pivotalmounting toward said column, a generally vertical piston-cylinderassembly mounted on said column above said turntable at one such stationand operative forcibly to extend said piston in a downward direction toengage and depress said radially inwardly projecting extension of a saidcore box supporting member thereby to rock the latter upwardly, latchmeans on said column at such station operative automatically to engagesaid extension of said member to hold said extension thus depresseddespite subsequent retraction of said piston, a guide track mounted onsaid column and partially encircling the latter constituting acontinuation of said latch means effective to engage said extension tohold it depressed during further indexing of said turntable, said guidetrack sloping upwardly adjacent said blow station to permit saidextension gradually to rise and said pivotally mounted member todescend, and stop means limiting such downward movement of said memberto position a core box top carried by said member in horizontal positiondirectly vertically spaced above a corresponding core box carried bysaid turntable at said blow station.

8. In combination with a turntable adapted to transport core boxes andthe like from station to station; means operative to raise and lowercore box tops and the like comprising a support on said turntable forsuch top, means pivotally mounting said support on said turntable iorupward swinging movement to lift such top to make accessible a subjacentcore box carried by said turntable, power means permanently located atone such station operative there to engage said pivotally mountedsupport to swing the same upwardly, and guide means adapted thereupon toengage said support to maintain the latter thus elevated during aportion only of subsequent rotation of said turntable.

9. In indexing means for core boxes and the like adapted to be indexedfrom station to station and to support core boxes thereon; support meansoperative to support a corresponding core box top or the like inhorizontal position spaced directly vertically above a respective corebox at one such station and to shift such tops to nonobstructingpositions at another station comprising a sup? portior such core boxstopmountedfor movement with saidindexing means and also for suchshiftingmovement relative to a core box transported by said indexingmeans,

power means at one such station operative thus to shift said. support,and guide means thereupon operative to engage said support during aportion of the indexing cycle of said indexing means to maintain saidsupport in such shifted position with such top therefore in suchnon-obstructing position.

110. In indexing means for core boxes and the like including a turntableadapted to be indexed from station to station and to support core boxesthereon, one such station being a blow station having core box liftingmeans and a blow plate between which such box is adapted to be clamped;core box top supporting means mounted on said turntable and rotatabletherewith adapted rcmovably to support core box tops and the like inhorizontal position spaced directly vertically above a respective corebox at such blow station, said lifting means at such blow station beingoperative vertically to elevate said latter 10 UNITED STATES PATENTS567,884 Brown Sept. 15, 1896 1,025,737 Brown May 7, 1912 1,526,078Murphy Feb. 10, 1925 15 2,259,768 Naylor et a1. Oct. 21, 1941 2,636,230Morton "Apr. 28, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES The Iron Age, vol. :169, issue20,. May 15, 1952, pages core .box to engage and lift said top forciblyagainst said.

supporting means, upwardly and inwardly at another station.

References Cited in the file of this patent

